Some places are releasing it at 9pm tonight. Had I known, I may have ordered from a physical retailer and picked it up, but I ordered back in June when the release date was supposed to be February 14th, so I couldn't have possibly known any of this.

There's some free DLC up already, like the expected Japanese audio track (a 3GB download) and additional difficulty mode, but also a pack of healing items and another pack of fusion items. Dunno if they're exclusive to the PS4 side of the PSN store.

Deltron wrote:There's some free DLC up already, like the expected Japanese audio track (a 3GB download) and additional difficulty mode, but also a pack of healing items and another pack of fusion items. Dunno if they're exclusive to the PS4 side of the PSN store.

I slept poorly.

I also slept poorly but that's nothing new to me.

I didn't see the DLC for PS3 when I tried earlier (before I got the game) and another Tumblr friend with the PS3 version mentioned that they couldn't see it either- but, I do know that it's not exclusive to PS4 based on articles I've read while trying to answer that question for myself. Granted, I planned on starting with the English voices anyway (they're really not that bad now that everything's in context, and the font doesn't even look bad on the big screen either, so I'm pleasantly surprised about how that worked out) and I'm not far enough to need the healing items or fusion items yet. I'm 2 hours in and still basically in the tutorial stage, as Ryuji hasn't even awakened yet. I'll check again when I fire the game up next time.

Heh, yeah, those train stations in particular are really something. I'd be hopeless in Japan.

I'm about five or six hours in, right at the point where everything is unlocked and you have full control over how you spend your time. I'm trying to organize my thoughts amidst a whole lotta internal squealing.

- This is probably the most stylish game I've ever played and I dunno how far back I'd have to go just to find something comparable. Jet Set Radio maybe.

- The combination of traditional SMT guitar with 70s funk and chill-ass Chrono Trigger-y basslines is amazing and maybe the best soundtrack this series has ever done.

- I'm not quite used to the movement and camera yet. Something about the momentum feels a little different and the camera looks like it drifts a bit sometimes.

- Some scenes are really visually busy in ways that sometimes feel a little distracting, especially in the city and the school, but I'll get used to it. A tad less chatter might've helped, or non-repeating chatter, once you've already seen a particular line.

- Combat is basically perfect without changing up the Persona flow too much. A little tighter, a little quicker, some nice QOL additions. Just right.

- As for the bigger combat changes, the return of guns is really cool without being too overpowered, but most importantly, demon negotiation is FINALLY back and largely unchanged from P1/P2, aside from being quicker, so that made me really really happy. Having a new option for quick battle resolution besides "knock down, knock down, all-out, done" is really great and it works well as a Shuffle Time replacement. This is the crown jewel of the P5 combat system in my opinion and probably my favourite thing about the gameplay so far.

Slight spoilerly story things for the first few hours...

Spoiler :

I was NOT expecting Igor to be an S-Link, holy shit. That could be huge depending on which direction it goes.

Speaking of s-links, I wonder if the game is gonna jump the timeline to the interrogation every single time I make a new friend, or if that's limited to the main cast. It's an interesting framing device. Hopefully it works out better here than the last time I saw it in Dragon Age 2.

I appreciate how Morgana appears to crush on Ann without going overboard into schlock comedy like Teddie did with the P4 girls. Morgana is excellent so far. And I have a feeling that everyone at school being on the lookout for a rogue cat is gonna be a great running gag.

There's a bit of a P2 vibe here and there, especially in the scenes with the (presumed) government people. In gameplay, the way the new shadows are voiced reminds me a lot of P2 as well.

I picked it up yesterday and go the take your heart special edition. Havent played yet though, however i heard that the special editions online orders got screwed up somewhere and some were not able to get them.

Deltron wrote:Heh, yeah, those train stations in particular are really something. I'd be hopeless in Japan.

I figured out that with R1, if you click on the train station, it'll show a new map of the other stations/areas, and then you can quick jump again from there. Otherwise, you can only quick jump to places in that immediate area, and what I was doing before was physically walking to the train, taking it, and then quick jumping in the new area. Not necessary.

Deltron wrote:- I'm not quite used to the movement and camera yet. Something about the momentum feels a little different and the camera looks like it drifts a bit sometimes.

Yeah, in the dungeon this can get annoying. Glad it's not just me.

Regarding your hidden text:

Spoiler :

Jumping to the interrogation after making a social link has only happened on rank 1 for me so far, so at least it's not every rank up or anything. I do imagine that it'll keep happening at rank 1 for everyone, though, as they all teach new skills that help the party, and Sae keeps saying, "you must have known someone who could... (such and such)."

I love Morgana too, and yes, I like how his flirting is balanced (apparently he's a 'he.')

The story gets *really* dark and the first major boss is pretty over the top with symbolism.

Yeah, not sure how far you are, but doing this without a guide is hard. I'm sure a guide would make me turn shit down and study, but this is my first time going into a Persona game blind, believe it or not.

Also, I got frustrated before and after the exams because there were so many nights where I couldn't do anything at all. Like, more than in P3/4. That sucked. I was so worried about my DVD late fees (cue American Psycho) BUT- pro-tip, your first DVD late fee is waived. Wish I had known that but I didn't save beforehand, so... rent all the DVDs as soon as you can and don't return them until you're done. It'll get waived. Don't be dumb like me and return only one with a small fee even if you're not done just because you feel guilty.

Speaking of, it took me forever to find that shop after it told me I *could* buy a TV there, but not at that time, again because of the R1 issue. Worth getting so you can watch the Sunday home shopping show, at least, even if you don't want DVDs. Don't worry, Tanaka and his annoying jingle aren't involved!

There definitely seems to be more of everything all over the place compared to the other games and that contributes to the getting lost in the overwhelming first few hours. I feel like P3/P4 had one or two places to buy each major thing, but P5 has vendors all over the place for all kinds of stuff.

Maybe that was an environmental design choice now that we're actually in Tokyo versus a lengthy chain of made-up locations. If yer gonna do Tokyo, density is key. Feels a bit like Yakuza sometimes.

I like the infiltration log. It's a great way of making me think "hey, I got a lot done this session, look at those six or seven log items!" and then crashing me back down to earth when Morgana pops up and is all like "great job, but we're nowhere near the treasure yet!"

Hehe, it gets easier. I'm ready to put the calling card out for Madarame's dungeon and I thought it was easier than the first in terms of both where to go and fighting (yay multi-target spells...). That said, I didn't have enough lockpicks, so if I want the two treasure boxes I missed, I need to wait at least one day until I can make more at night, and then burn another day/night to open them before issuing the calling card. That's a mechanic I could do without. Also sucks that if I go to Mementos to clear up a quest there, that night won't be free either. I wish I could jump from the palace to Mementos after grabbing the chests so that it's less of a waste of a day... that's one area that P4 did better in.